


Personal growth

by myotishia



Series: Psyonic [12]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:07:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27647276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myotishia/pseuds/myotishia
Summary: Cardiff awakens covered in foliage, making the roads impassable and leaving a huge problem for Torchwood to deal with.
Relationships: Gwen Cooper/Rhys Williams, Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Owen Harper/Toshiko Sato
Series: Psyonic [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1766956
Comments: 24
Kudos: 28





	1. Sprouting

Melody was ready to apologise for being late when she approached the tourist information centre and saw Ianto clipping away at a very tall and overgrown mix of nettles and what was possibly a dandelion. The whole city had become overgrown, seemingly overnight. The roads were chaos as roots pushed themselves up through the tarmac. Mel had found most of the outside of her building covered in ivy and the hedges around the edge of the building in full bloom, even though they’d been completely cut down the week before as they were bare for the winter. It had looked beautiful, the building surrounded by blue, purple and pink flowers covered in a fine layer of glittering frost. Her walk had felt more like a hike as everywhere there was grass it had grown to above her knee level. The trees that had been saplings had grown strong, their bright green leaves waving in the icy breeze, casting soft shadows as the winter sun beat down. It offered little heat but plenty of bright light as it rose above the horizon. Flashes of a burning sky had swept through her mind as her dreams had shown her so many times now. No matter how her dreams started they always seemed to end the same way. Smelling of ash and blood. 

“Bloody hell!” Ianto snapped, tearing a long branch of nettles away that had landed on his wrist, making Mel jump a little.

She held the strap of her bag, stopping it from slipping off her shoulder. “I assume this is one of ours?”

“Oh, morning. Sorry, yea.” He pulled off his thick gloves. “I could barely open the door when I got up here earlier. Gwen called and said that Rhys is making a path to their car with a hedge trimmer, not that it’s going to help. And Tosh says she’s had to stop Owen slapping together a flamethrower.” 

“It isn’t affecting the hothouse is it?”

“Thankfully no. It looks like it’s only plants that are planted in the ground. Planters, window boxes and plastic cups with cress seeds in aren’t affected.”

She chuckled. “Cress seeds?” 

“Rhiannon texted me. Mica’s more than a bit annoyed that her school project is being dwarfed by the dandelions in the garden.”

“Oh dear. So, how far do you think this goes?”

“Jack’s trying to find out now… This is going to be a pain to clean up.”

“A few more cold nights and I think it’ll sort itself out. Want me to go and buy some weed killer?”

“Anything more than this the council can deal with.”

“At least the weevils’ll eat any of the roots that reach the sewer system.”

“A silver lining to everything I suppose.” He scratched at where the nettle had stung him. 

She frowned. “Don’t scratch. One sec.” She looked around, spotting what she was looking for and grabbing a large leaf that had sprouted under the base of the nettles. She folded it in half and held it out to him. “Rub this on the sting.”

He raised an eyebrow at her and tentatively did as she said, finding that the sting dulled to a vague itch. 

“It’s a dock leaf. Didn’t you ever get told about them as a kid?”

“No. Usually if I got stung by a nettle I was told to walk it off.”

“That’s… Not good.”

“Hmm.”

“Being as we can open the door, maybe we should go inside. You can wash your wrist so you don’t get chlorophyll stains on your shirt sleeve.”

He looked down at the green liquid that would be a complete pain to remove. “Good point.” 

Jack glanced up as he heard Ianto and Melody enter. “Just in time. Take a look at this.” He pointed to the screens in front of him. 

On each screen was a map of the area with different webs of lines highlighted. One showed gas lines, another showed water pipes, another showed the sewer system and finally one showed the network of broadband cables. 

“Notice anything?” He asked.

Ianto rubbed his wrist with a tissue. “They’re all active?”

“Exactly. I thought this might be an attack to take down local infrastructure, but now I’m not so sure. The plants have torn up the roads, but they haven’t damaged anything you’d think they’d target first. They aren’t damaging buildings either.”

“So, maybe we can talk them round to either pulling the plants down or at least not doing this again.” Mel offered.

“That’s what I was hoping. The only problem is getting to it. I’m pretty sure it’s staying in the epicentre but that’s where its effect is the strongest, so it’s basically become a forest.”

Ianto sighed. “So we have to go hiking?”

“I’m afraid so. The SUV can get us within three miles, after that we’ll have to make our way on foot.” 

“Right. Should I tell the others to stay at home?”

“Might as well.”

Melody slipped her bag from her shoulder. “Then I’ll pack you both something for lunch.”

“I’m hoping it won’t take that long.”

“You can’t go hiking without a lunch. You don’t know just how long it could take to get through a jungle full of goodness knows what. Water alone isn’t enough.” She said matter of factly. 

He chuckled to himself. “Yes ma’am.”

She wondered for a moment if she’d overstepped, but his warm smile said he was more than a little amused with her fussing over them. She couldn’t help herself. Even if she was the youngest they didn’t take care of themselves so she felt like someone had to and that someone was her.

Ianto went to find a pair of walking boots. Dress shoes were not built for climbing through thick foliage. He threw the tissue that was now stained green into the bin and noted the lack of any sign of the sting. That was logical, he supposed, but it was going to take some getting used to. The day before he’d slipped with one of the old metal boxes and cut open two of his fingers. They’d healed before he’d even reached the sink to wash off the blood, no sign of a scar to speak of what had happened, only the memory of the stinging pain and the swiftly drying crimson liquid to show it had ever happened at all. It was surreal. This was his life now so he’d have to get used to it. Jack had, and he’d never been given the choice to say yes or no to his immortality. He hoped he wouldn’t regret his decision, but at least that’s what it was, his choice. 

Jacks voice cut through his thoughts. “Ianto?” 

“Hmm? Sorry, I was thinking about…” He sighed. He knew Jack wouldn’t buy whatever he said. 

“It’s a lot, I know. Have you thought about if you’re going to tell anyone?”

“Not yet. I’ll have to tell Owen but I’m not sure how I’m going to bring it up.”

“If you need me to then I can tell him.”

“No. No, I should. I’ll work it out.” 

Owen rolled his shoulders, trying to ease some of the tension the situation had caused. He didn’t like being trapped. It put him on edge. Ever since almost getting blasted with radiation in the worst thought out power plant he’d ever seen being trapped made him significantly more uneasy. At least being trapped in the hub he knew that if push came to shove he could get out. He knew the system well enough to do that. 

Usually he’d be happy to take the day off, spend some time with Tosh, get some proper sleep for once, but he just couldn’t relax. 

“We could try and walk to the hub if you’d like.” Tosh said, resting a hand on the knee he’d been bouncing for the past five minutes.

He snapped from his daze. “What? No… No. You never get a day off. We should make the most of it.”

“Owen. How long have I known you. Let’s just go and get some air if nothing else.” 

He nodded, deciding that arguing would be pointless and even if it was bloody freezing the day was dry and clear. Plus if they did end up reaching the hub he could test the local soil to see what had pushed the local flora into overdrive. It could be useful.

Tosh pulled on her coat and tucked a pair of gloves into her pocket, not wanting to get too cold out there. She’d seen the layer of glittering frost covering the windowsills when she’d first gotten up that morning. Outside, it was eerily quiet as most had abandoned trying to get to work unless it was within walking distance and there was certainly no road noise. The slight breeze was icy but slow enough that it had no real bite to it. It was pleasant. As they walked down the street, the road cracked and broken by a mix of tree roots and mushrooms, Owen began to relax a little. The air was fresh and though no cars could move, walking was quite easy. How long had it been since they last went out in daylight hours? Too long. He interlaced his fingers with hers, neither making a big deal of it but both feeling contented as they began the long walk to work.

Gwen caught her breath from helping pull down the overgrown ivy barrier that had completely covered the front door of their building. They’d had to climb out of a neighbours window just to get outside and their search for some kind of hedge trimmer had been futile. Even if they had found one the foliage was so thick it never would have cut through. Simply pulling it away in one piece had ended up being a lot more effective. She hoped Jack and Ianto could get this reversed. It wouldn’t fix the roads but it would at least let them out of the building without needing to use the window or a chainsaw. 

“Are you sure your lot don’t have something that could just zap all of this out of the way?” Asked Rhys, throwing aside a bundle of ivy.

“Nope. But if we did it’d be at the hub.”

“Which we can’t get to.”

“Unless we walk, no, anyway Jack and Ianto said they have this under control so we should just make the most of it.”

“How about-” he began, dusting off his hands, “we spend a few hours on wedding planning and if nothing’s changed we’ll see if we can find a way to get you to work.”

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “Deal.”

Melody sipped her tea as she warmed her toes by the small heater hidden under the desk. The old door let in a draft that could give your feet frostbite if you weren’t wearing thick socks, so Ianto had long ago invested in a small heater to keep the little office comfortable. She placed her mug down and glanced over to the unopened stack of post. She knew what was inside but she doubted it would be useful. Most of the leaflets were just reprints of what they already had, but maybe one of the posters could be interesting. She opened one of the tubes and pulled out the rolled paper inside, holding it up to see where it might fit. It was advertising a large music festival highlighting local bands and small businesses as an alternative to the typical holiday shopping crush. It looked interesting. Something she could invite Heather to. A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth as she thought about her girlfriend, but it faded as that familiar pang of guilt stabbed her in the back. She felt as if she’d betrayed someone who cared so deeply about her and it almost physically hurt. She shook it off and moved to hang up the poster in a medium sized space between a list of emergency service numbers and general guidance, and a poster of Cardiff castle that was so faded the black lines had turned a reddish brown. The little golden pins held the corners flat to the wall and stopped it rolling itself back up. Returning to the stack of post, she reached for a box, fingers just brushing the tape as her vision filled with red and orange light. The air tasted like ash and it felt extremely hot, blowing through what should have been a closed off room. She coughed and fell to her knees before the world seemed to return to normal. What had just happened? Her dream. That’s what it felt like. The dream that had been haunting her nights. She shakily pulled herself up and slumped into her chair, her mouth still tasting of ash as she took a long sip of her tea and gathered her thoughts. She quickly began typing up a full report of everything she could remember from the dream and made a note that she wanted to check in with Owen after her sudden hallucination. Vision? Experience? Either way it had left her shaken. After typing up what she could she looked back at the box that she’d reached to open and found it had no address written on it. It must have been hand delivered, but why? A knot grew in her stomach and she decided to lock the outer door so she could get this box contained. She’d rather be teased for over reacting than open it and release the apocalypse. She grabbed a pair of gloves and carried the unmarked box down into the hub before going to retrieve one of the strong containment boxes. It could be an explosive and as long as the outer box was locked she was safe. 

Myfanwy landed not too far from her and squawked.

“Ok, ok. I’ll get your lunch in a bit.” Mel said, double checking the lock on the outer storage box. Once she was sure it was secure she pulled off her gloves and left them next to it. “Right then, I suppose you want feeding then, hmm?” 

The pteranodon clicked her beak and tilted her head in reply. 

“I’m on my own today so be a bit patient.”

She tapped Mel on the shoulder with her beak and pulled at the womans sleeve. 

“Easy girl. What’s up with you today?”

She began to tug harder, insisting they move away from the box and a loud thump was heard from inside. 


	2. Rooted

Jack offered his hand to help Ianto up the tangled web of roots and stems that blanketed the ground. They’d been walking for more than half an hour and the longer they walked, the tougher it got. Flowers of multiple different kinds blossomed all around, the cold, moist, air the only thing between the men and a cloud of pollen. 

“How much further do you think it’ll be?” Ianto asked, taking a drink from his water bottle. 

Jack checked the gps map on his wrist comp. “Not far now. Let’s hope we don’t have to cut our way through.”

“We could knock first.” He brushed a branch out of his way as he marched forward, wanting to get this over with. If it had just been a winter hike he might have enjoyed it. After all, the scenery was beautiful and the trees stopped any bite from the wind. 

Just over a hill that was more wood than earth the trees parted to show a clearing filled with flowers. A figure sat in the centre, just as coated in blossoms. 

Jack cleared his throat, getting the figures attention. 

She turned and pulled herself to her feet, her greenish skin on full display bar the garlands of flowers that decorated her body. She smiled. “Humans. Hello.”

“Hi. I’m Captain Jack Harkness and this is Ianto Jones.”

“Welcome. My name is Nepir. What brings you both here?”

“You’ve made it pretty tough to get around the city so we wanted to ask you to dial it back.”

Confusion twisted her soft features. “I feel so many humans walking around. I don’t understand.”

“Do you know what a car is?” He wasn’t being sarcastic. It was very possible that she had no idea about modern technology beyond what she had seen inside the Osiris owned lab. 

“Those noisy carts made of metal?”

“Yea. Well, humans these days rely on those to get around. We need the roads accessible.” 

She seemed to consider the idea, the flowers that rested over her shoulders wilting. “Oh… Humans once adored my gifts. Osiris told me they would again if I showed them how beautiful I could make their world.” 

“In the right places, sure. Osiris has been using you but…” He turned to his partner. “Did we manage to buy the area around the buried Tengarien ship?”

Ianto nodded. “It’s considered a wildlife sanctuary and has been fenced off.”

“What if I could find you a place you could grow all the plants you wanted as long as they’re native to this planet?”

Nepir gasped, the flowers around her shoulders springing back to life. “Will there be other living things there?”

“Sure. There’ll be animals, birds, insects.”

She clapped gleefully and all the flowers in the area turned to face her. 

“But you have to let our ecosystem here go back to what it was yesterday.”

“Yes. I never meant to harm anyone. I will send them to their winter rest right away.” 

Leaves began to rain down, not only in the clearing but all over the city. Like autumn on fast forward the flowers shrivelled, dropping what seeds they had before crumpling and beginning to rot, the trees turned yellow and brown and their leaves blanketed the whole area. The roots that had climbed to the surface retreated to just below the trunks of the trees. The clean up would still be huge, but not as destructive. 

Owen and Tosh had taken shelter in the doorway of a shop as the rain of leaves had began. They weren’t too far from the hub now and they’d both admit that it had actually been a pleasant walk. They rarely got time to just talk. They were either working, making time to eat, trying to clear their heads from the disaster work could be sometimes or sleeping. Well, there were other activities but Tosh liked to keep that very much private. She wasn’t a prude, far from it, but that was between them and only them. 

“There goes our day off.” Owen said, softly kicking a small pile of crisp leaves that had gathered beside the door. 

She leaned on his arm. “We could turn back.”

“Naa. We can get Harkness to pay for lunch. Anyway, when is it ever this easy?”

“True. Do you think it was a distraction?”

“Tempting fate there.”

“You did that before me.” She chuckled. Her phone buzzed from her pocket and she swiftly answered. “Hello?”

Melody replied, sounding a little nervous. “You’re not close to the hub by any chance, are you?” 

“Yes actually. Why?”

“Bit of a long story but I found an unmarked parcel with the usual office deliveries. It felt a bit off so I went to put it in one of the tough archive boxes. As soon as I did Myfanwy started dragging me away and then the box moved.”

“Wait… What do you mean the box moved?”

“Like something had tried to slam its way out from inside it.” A loud thump could be heard, followed by a cautious squawk. “Did you hear that? It’s been doing that and Myfanwy won’t let me go anywhere. She’s really on edge.”

“Ok, well we’re on our way. Just stay calm and maybe give Myfanwy something to eat to distract her.”

“Thanks. See you soon.” 

The call dropped and Tosh frowned. “Mel might be in trouble.” 

“And water’s wet. What kind?”

“I’m not completely sure but it’s got Myfanwy upset.”

Ianto walked beside Nepir as Jack strode ahead. He had a million questions but didn’t want to upset this being who had been so agreeable. 

“Can I ask you something?” He began, keeping his voice soft and friendly. 

She nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Your race… Where were you born?”

“Ah, a complex question. Before I was me I was part of a much larger being, as we all were. We were a monster. A tyrant. We conquered planets, ate our fill and moved on. One planet. One amazing little planet. Its people were not strong but they were intelligent. They built a weapon like nothing we’d ever seen before. We thought we were indestructible so we stared down and welcomed their attempt. The weapon separated us into thousands of pieces and sent us into space. We’d never experienced anything like that and as we travelled we tried in vain to pull ourselves back together. We clustered and some of us landed together. Once we landed and stabilised we became I. For the first time I was singular. I suppose in that way I was born on Earth.” 

“You don’t seem the tyrannical type.”

“Many of us hated what we were as one. I prefer to bring life, not destroy it.” She smiled. 

“Have you been conscious this whole time?”

“Yes. I am millenia old. Though this vessel is around two thousand, three hundred years old.” 

“Did you know her when she was human?”

“Oh yes. Nenet was a kind and wonderful young human.” A slight sadness shone in her visible eye. “I miss her dearly.”

From what he could see it didn’t seem like she’d taken the body without permission. “What was she like? How did you meet?”

“She found me in her fathers field. She was so upset as their crops had failed and she was sure she would starve. I spoke to her and offered to help the crops grow. I asked nothing in return but once her father saw his family had been saved by the grace of what he called a goddess. Nenet became my priestess of sorts and collected offerings to me while I allowed the fields to produce enough to sustain their city. One day her father burst into my temple and begged me to save poor Nenet. She had been hit in the eye and the infection had spread through her body. She had a fever and nothing would bring it down. I asked him to bring her to me. She looked so frail and had none of the fire I usually saw in her usually. I feared she did not have long left so I did the only thing I knew how to. I planted myself at the centre of the damage and purged her form of the poison. We became one and she was healthy again. We lived as one for years but as she watched her family and friends pass, escaped war, saw those she cared for harmed, she began to forget the good we had seen. One day she asked me if I would allow her to pass on. I could not deny her peace so the next time she slept I fully took over this vessel completely. I miss her voice. Human lives are so short, so fragile.”

He looked away, a nagging fear gripping his thoughts. “Humans weren’t made to live so long.”

“No. I suppose not. But I think it would have been better if I understood what it was like for her. I cared deeply for her but I could never share how she truly felt… You are troubled.”

“Just… Thinking about life… Don’t worry.” He didn’t feel like talking about it, but her perspective helped a little. He still didn’t regret his decision but a little early warning was helpful in keeping it that way. 

Jack brushed the blanket of fallen leaves from the bonnet and windscreen of the SUV and turned back. “Right, this should be a lot faster than hiking.” 

Melody had given up trying to get past Myfanwy. Even after being fed, the pteranodon wouldn’t allow her to go near that side of the hub, let alone touch the box. The box itself had dropped to the floor and it had continued thumping around, threatening to break open. She’d sat next to the door to the armoury and let Myfanwy preen her hair as it kept her calm and quiet. At least someone would be calm. Mel petted the creatures beak softly and stared at the box as it knocked itself onto its side again. At any moment it could break open and release whatever was in there. She visibly jumped as Owen and Tosh entered, looking around for the possible threat. Melody pointed to the box as it thumped yet again. 

“I expected it to be bigger.” Owen said, carefully approaching the box before Myfanwy charged forwards to stop him. “Get! I don’t need protecting, you overgrown bird.” He waved her off and she screeched at him in a mix of frustration and worry. Picking up the box, making sure he had one hand on the lid and the other on the bottom, and carried it down to the medical bay. He could find out what was inside without opening it. 

Now the box was out of sight Myfanwy finally allowed Melody to move from her spot so she could join Tosh and Owen. 

“It was just a blank package?” Asked Tosh, unsure if she’d completely understood their earlier call.

Mel nodded. “Just a cardboard box with packing tape holding it closed. I thought it was strange it had been delivered by hand but…” She played with the pendant around her neck. “I think I had a vision when I touched it.”

“What kind?”

“It’s hard to explain. I wrote everything up and sent it to Jack for him to look over. I sent a copy to Owen too.”

She beckoned the younger woman to follow her into the med bay where Owen was busy trying to see what was moving inside the box. “Try and simplify it.”

“Well, the air started tasting of ash and it felt like the whole area was on fire. It was only a flash but it was disorientating.”

“That sounds simple enough.”

“It doesn’t end there. I’ve felt it before. In fact I’ve been having the same nightmare for a few weeks now.”

“Why didn’t you say something before?” Owen asked, not looking up from the mysterious box. 

“I thought it was just a stress dream. I have normal nightmares like everyone else when I’m stressed and I didn’t do any drawings while sleepwalking so I didn’t think it was important.”

Tosh leaned on the walkway handrail. “So, what’s your dream about?”

“I’m standing on rubble, covered in ash and blood. The sky is bright orange and looks like it’s burning-”

The clang of Owen dropping the scanner he’d been using pulled both of their attention. “You said that before.”

“Wh-what? When?”

“When you were recovering from getting bitten. You were sleepwalking and started going on about the sky being on fire.”

“I don’t remember having the dream back then, but it’s possible. What could it mean though? My visions and dreams are boring. The visions I had about the eyes were sent to me by one of them but this doesn’t feel the same.”

“It might not feel the same but if there’s one of those eyes in this box then it could be a vision of what happens if they group together.” 

“They’ve been on this planet for thousands of years. Twelve of them were together on the ship that brought them back from Egypt. Why would they be trying to merge again now? Why not back then?” Asked Tosh, sure that they didn’t have all the pieces of this puzzle. “There has to be something now that they didn’t have before.”

Melody pressed the pendant into her palm. “The Doctor said she thought that maybe whatever gave me my telepathic boost could be sending aliens my way to increase my ability. Like a stress test. What if they’re trying to set off this merging of them?”

“That would be very risky. If your vision is what would happen then you’re at much more risk than any of the situations you’ve been in before. We need someone on the inside.”

“So, either Osiris or that woman that supposedly hung around with him.” Owen picked up the scanner and examined it. 

“Ma’at. She seems to be a neutral party at least. But we’ve been trying to get hold of them for months with no luck.”

“You’d think it’d be simple to find a bloody huge metal woodlouse.” He squinted his eyes at the scanner screen. “Right… Well it’s not alive.”

“It isn’t? How was it jumping like that?”

He unclipped the box and opened the lid, the inside of the box a mess of dents and damage, the cardboard that had once been the packaging shredded. “Looks like Osiris still has a few followers, unless he’s gotten really good at building things with his little bug legs.” He reached into the box and pulled out a mess of dented metal that looked to be a kind of firing mechanism. The bottom of the box was filled with spent rounds of ammunition that had bounced off the sides of the heavily armoured outer casing. Tosh walked down next to him to examine the firing mechanism. It was heavily damaged from the multiple ricochets but she could still recognise some of the parts. 

“It was activated by an altimeter. As soon as it got low enough it began its timed attack. That’s why it didn’t go off while it was in the tourist office.”

“So it wasn’t just an attack, it was a message. They know where we are.” 

"And it's a mistake on their part. I can track down where these components were bought." 


	3. Crumpled leaves

The land just above where the, now dead, ship was buried had taken on a desolate look. The degraded vessel likely wasn’t the healthiest thing for the land but Nepir didn’t seem to mind. Each step she took caused the grass and flowers to burst back into life. 

“What do you think?” Asked Jack, leaning against a tree. 

She beamed. “It’s perfect. As long as I don’t go beyond the fence this is all mine?”

“Yea. We don’t want anyone walking through this place.”

“I will treat it with the utmost care.”

“And you know Osiris isn’t allowed here either.”

She nodded. “He lied to me. Ma’at told me what he used my plants for in the lab but I didn’t want to believe her. Now I have no option.”

“Do you know where they are right now?”

“No. Osiris has a group of humans aiding him but Ma’at has been silent since I left the lab. I hope she’s safe.”

Jack nodded. “I’ll let you get settled in. Do you know how to contact me if you need anything?”

“You’ve given me more than enough. Thank you. I hope your partner is alright, he seemed perturbed about something.”

“He’ll be ok. Take care.” He slipped his hands into his pockets as he made the short trek back to the SUV. He knew Ianto was having trouble, but had no idea how to even bring it up. If he said the wrong thing there was a chance for Ianto to just shut down and that was the opposite of what either of them needed. He passed through the gate and locked it behind himself. His boyfriend was sat in the passenger seat, keeping warm, eyes closed. He looked peaceful. Not quite awake, not quite asleep, just resting. A smile tugged at the sides of his lips. He’d made the right choice when he asked Ianto to be the one to stay with him forever. Most people, even if they fell in love with him, never really let go of the idea that he was something other than human. But Ianto; kind, intelligent, fiercely protective, Ianto Jones had. They were equals. 

Ianto looked over as he heard the drivers side door open. “That was quick.” 

“She seems to be happy with the arrangement.” 

“That’s that then I suppose.”

“Disappointed?” 

“No. Of course not. This is the best we could have asked for.” 

“You’re quiet today… Something bothering you?”

“Not particularly. Just a bit lost in my thoughts… I should talk to Owen tomorrow. Better to get it over with, not that I think he’ll care.”

Tosh had taken apart the device, finding it to be quite the nasty little thing. The altimeter set off a timer that would tick down, presumably until they’d taken on a false sense of security, that would eventually set off the firing mechanism. At thirty four second intervals it would fire the large bullets into whatever was in the line of fire. It would have been impossible to shut down without getting hurt or killed. The only reason it had stopped was that it ran out of ammunition, otherwise it could keep firing for as long as necessary. The bullets had heavily damaged it, yes, but she could still find serial numbers and makers marks that could lead to where it had been manufactured. What was more was that there were still fingerprints left on the inside of the mechanism from when it had been built. Owen had sat down with Melody to talk over her vision but they had little more than they had last time they’d tried to figure out her telepathy. Though he did have a chance to admit that her eye contact mind absorption didn’t work when she was sleepwalking. 

Jack raised an eyebrow as he walked in, having expected the hub to be empty. “I could see Tosh wanting to try and get here but Owen? What happened?” 

Owen rolled his eyes.

“That was my fault.” Mel looked up and blushed a little. “I could explain or I could give you this.” She grabbed the report she’d printed out and stapled together, then held it out to Jack as he approached. 

He took it and read through it quickly. “Huh… Owen, can you go and talk to Ianto?” He asked, not looking up from the report.

“Not hurt is he?” Owen stood from his chair. 

“No. You’ll have to ask him what it’s about.”

“Must be serious if he wants to talk to me. He still in the garage?”

“Yea. He’s cleaning dead leaves out of the SUV.”

“Right.” Without another word he headed to the garage.

Ianto was holding a plastic bag in one hand and gathered pieces of dead leaves with the other, dropping them in the bag while mumbling to himself. 

Seeing that his colleague looked to be just fine Owen slammed his hand on the roof of the SUV, making Ianto jump. He received an irritated glare in return.

“Can I help you?” 

“Jack said you wanted to talk to me.”

He placed the bag of leaves next to the vehicle and closed the door, dusting off his hands. “Yea… I do.”

“About…?” The doctor really didn’t like the vibe he was getting from Ianto. It was like he was about to admit something awful and it put him on edge. 

He leaned back against the SUV and sighed. “Well… You don’t have to worry about me getting hurt anymore… Or getting sick for that matter.”

“Why?” That feeling got worse as he racked his brain to work it out. “Not quitting are you?”

“What? No… No… The Doctor gave Jack a device-”

“Do I really want to hear this?”

“Just shut up and let me talk!”

He put his hands up, not wanting to irritate him any more.

“She gave him what she called a Mire repair kit. It was a little computer chip looking thing. Once it links up with someone it’ll fix any kind of damage they suffer, small or large.”

“That’s brilliant. Why haven’t I been studying it?”

“Because it was a one time offer. We don’t get to replicate it. Anyway, it’s too late now. It’s already been used.”

“Are you telling me you’re indestructible?” 

“Maybe? It’s more that I’m immortal. I still get hurt but it just heals almost immediately.” 

“Congratulations. And why aren’t you happy about it?” 

“I am… I mean… It’s a lot.”

“You’re thinking too far ahead, that’s your problem.” He leaned on the Suv next to Ianto and looked up at the electric lights buzzing overhead, ignoring the glare he was getting. 

“How can I not? It’s not exactly going to be easy watching everyone I know age and die. Then eventually forget they ever existed.”

“It isn’t, but you shouldn’t just sit and wait, grieving before people are even close to gone. And you won’t forget because you keep records of everything.”

Ianto studied the floor. “I don’t want to regret this.”

“Then don’t. Pretend it isn’t even there. Just live.”

“Christ, things must be a mess, you’re actually giving good advice.”

Owen chuckled. “Yea, well. Has to happen once in a while… Are you going to sulk out here or are you going to come in and see Osiris’ newest murder attempt?”

“What?” 

Jack trusted Tosh to find as much information as she could with the device so he turned his attention to the vision and what Ianto had told him about the origin of the eyes. He’d written notes on one of the boards in his office in surprisingly neat cursive, giving himself a visual representation to work with. The pieces were mostly there, he was sure, but part of him felt like something key was still missing. The eyes should have been able to form together centuries ago but didn’t. Why? Why were they trying to now? What had changed? Why had so many been so desperate to gather vessels if they were going to become part of this singular being anyway? Why did they need perfect vessels? 

“Maybe they need compatible flesh to give them a physical form.” Melody said softly. She’d been reading as she hadn’t wanted to go back up to the office without telling Ianto what had happened first. 

Jack looked over his shoulder. “I didn’t realise you were still here… Maybe. It could be possible, being as this thing must have lost a lot when it was blown apart… But we’ve stopped so many of them. Do you think you’d still have this dream, vision, premonition, if that even was from another possible timeline?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. And the creature doesn’t look stable exactly from what I’ve seen of it. It has two heads that are constantly swaying and wings that don’t look big enough to lift it. It’s terrifying in that should not exist kind of way… That and it’s the size of a moon.” She shuddered.

“Don’t have a picture of this thing, do you?”

“Actually I do have a painting at home… I can bring it in tomorrow.” 

“Sure, why not.”

“If it does manage to merge it-”

“No. I’m not going to let that happen… We need to track down Osiris. He’s the one intent on gathering them. If we can capture one of his little minions we could find out where he’s hiding.” There was a coldness to him that made Melody nervous. Whatever he was planning was not going to be pleasant. 

She rubbed her thumb over her pendant. “Jack… Please don’t do anything you’ll regret.” 

“I won’t.” 

“You won’t do it, or won’t regret it?”

“I won’t let them destroy this world.” He kept his eyes on the board and after a long moment she decided it was best to leave. Fear leads to desperation and desperation leads to mistakes, ones you can’t take back. She wished Gwen was there to snap some sense into him. She headed up to the tourist information centre and took her mobile out, tapping Gwens contact. 

“Hi. What’s up?” Asked a rather cheery sounding Gwen. 

Melody sunk into her chair. “Hi. Sorry to bother you.”

“No, it’s a break from looking at flower arrangements. You sound upset.”

“Osiris left us an improvised weapon. Well, we’re pretty sure it’s him. We’re all fine but Jack’s worried and he’s getting… I dunno… Single minded? Sharp? It’s hard to explain.”

“It’ll be ok. I’ll have a word with him tomorrow. I know how he can get. Are you ok?”

“Yea. The whole day has me a bit nervous to be honest. Sorry.”

“It’s fine sweetheart. I’d rather you call me if you’re feeling down.”

“Thanks… I’ll email you the report about today so you know what’s going on. Well, some of it. I think Jack and Ianto will have to write the report about the plants. Whatever they did worked, so I suppose there’s that.”

“It is a bit impressive watching the leaves fall on fast forward.”

“Myfanwy was holding me hostage at the time so I didn’t get to see.” She chuckled at how ridiculous that sounded as soon as she said it out loud. 

Gwen smiled to herself. “Ok, you’re going to have to tell me that story tomorrow.” 

“I will. Thanks again. Enjoy your flower arrangements.” 

“I’ll try.”

That night Melody found herself standing atop the pile of rubble under a burning sky. The scent of ash and blood even stronger than usual, but this time she wasn’t alone. A woman stood next to her, untouched by the ash, her tightly curled hair cascading down her back and ostrich feather shaped earrings glinting in the orange light. 

“How many times have you seen this event now?” The woman asked, her voice familiar and comforting. 

“Too many.”

“It won’t be much longer. Your leader may have sharp methods, but you should trust him. He may be able to prevent this disaster.”

“So I should just let him do what he wants?”

“Follow your heart human, but know that your decisions may be the tipping point between freedom and destruction. My brother is lost to a fantasy of what we once were. What we will never be again. Even this monstrosity is a pale shadow of our original form.”

“Why have you been sending me these visions?”

“You make my sister happy. The smallest of us, even fractured, still finds joy.” A smile crossed the womans dark lips. “And I do not wish to return to the creature we were. I have come to appreciate humanity, it its way. I do not wish to see their destruction.” 

“If we stop Osiris will this all stop?”

“Yes. This beast will never be born without my brother, but you and I both know for you this will not be  _ over _ .”

She looked to Ma’at, wide eyed, the bright orange sky casting harsh shadows across her pale face. “Do you know what’s sending all of this after me? What gave me my telepathy?”

“In part, yes. They would never speak with me directly, but I know they had the ear of my brother. They do not mention you by name, as they are far more subtle in their manipulation.”

“Is there anything you can tell me about them? Please. Anything could help.”

She placed a hand on the top of Melodys head. “You know I cannot give you that information. I am sorry. But I trust that there is nothing they can send that you cannot handle. They underestimate your heart. Be well, young human. Be well and be strong.”

Melody awoke with a gasp, safe in her bed, if a little tangled. 


	4. Fly trap

Tosh had gathered a list of names and addresses. Some were from the two sets of fingerprints she’d gathered and the rest were for where the parts had been manufactured. What had struck her most was that one set of parts were made by a company with an exclusive UNIT contract. At first she was happy to consider that they had maybe been scavenged or stolen, but the particular parts were brand new and had been special ordered through a UNIT direct line and paid for with a UNIT account. She’d sent a message to Martha about it and not five minutes later she’d received an email in return.

_ Hi Tosh,  _

_ Thanks for contacting me. It pretty much confirms what I’ve found on my side of the investigation. The staff member I’ve been tracking has gone AWOL, last seen the day after those parts were delivered. I think he knows he’s been found out. We have people out looking for him. Higher ups want to keep it quiet. I swear this is the kind of thing that makes me want to quit and go freelance with Mickey.  _

_ I’ll do what I can here. I hope you’re all ok and fingers crossed I can see you all soon. I’m craving some half decent coffee. If you need a hand I’m just a call away.  _

_ See you soon, _

_ Martha xx _

Tosh smiled as she read the short email, glad that they wouldn’t be standing against UNIT too. She glanced up as Jack walked past. “Did you get the addresses I sent you?” 

“I did. Nice work.” He replied, granting her a flash of his charming smile. “How’s Martha?”

“The man she’s been investigating’s gone awol so they’re hunting him too. And she’s ready to quit because her bosses are trying to keep the whole mess quiet. Oh, and she wants to visit when she can.”

“Sounds about right for UNIT. She’d be better off getting out of there.” 

They both looked up as Melody entered the hub, a large leather case clasped in her arms. She stopped. “Morning.”

“Good morning.” Tosh smiled in return.

Jack gestured to the case. “What’s that?”

“Oh-” Melody unzipped the case and pulled out an A3 canvas, painted with a stark black and firey orange, “- it’s the painting I mentioned yesterday. I don’t know how helpful it’ll be because of the lighting but it shows the scale I suppose.”

He tilted his head, feeling something about the image pulling at his mind. It was as if, in the blackness, something was waiting and staring back. 

“Jack?” Tosh said, resting her hand on his arm tentatively.

The gesture snapped him out of his apparent trance. “Huh?.. Sorry. Leave it in my office, ok?”

“Ok.” Melody slid the painting back into the case and zipped it up. “I think Ma’at spoke to me last night. She said if you stop Osiris then our issues with the eyes will end, so… Ignore what I said yesterday. I’ll support you no matter what you need to do.” She gave a slightly nervous smile before going to place the painting away.

He glanced at Tosh. “Did you feel that too?”

“I did...What was it?” The technician spoke in almost a whisper. 

“I don’t know.” 

The first address that Tosh had given was a small, run down looking, house. The paint on the front door peeling and the garden looking as if it was overgrown even before the sudden wave of growth through the city. Gwen stepped quietly around to the door at the side of the building and pressed the alien lockpick against it. At the same time, Jack was doing the exact same thing at the front door. They wanted to catch anyone inside by surprise so they didn’t have a chance to warn Osiris. The doors clicked softly as the locks slid back. Gwen let the door slowly glide open silently as it had no draft excluder to grip onto the carpet. She slipped into the house and looked around, finding the hallway empty bar Owen creeping through the front door. He gestured that he, and Jack, would clear the second floor. She nodded and beckoned Ianto to follow her through the building. In the living room two men were sat on wooden chairs, watching the news on a small TV, thankfully facing away from the open door. Ianto held up his stun gun and Gwen nodded. They’d be a lot easier to handle unconscious. She checked the tv to make sure they wouldn’t be spotted in the reflection on the screen but it looked too dusty to reflect anything. They crept in and swiftly took the two down, cuffing their wrists as soon as they hit the floor. 

Upstairs Owen pointed to one of the doors, hearing hushed voices behind it. 

“I can’t believe that idiot used the business account to buy the parts. No wonder they’re on his arse.” One voice said, almost laughing. 

A second voice sounded exhausted with the whole situation. “Yes, and they’re on our arses too. If Osiris hadn’t messed with Torchwood we wouldn’t be on the sodding run.”

“How was he meant to know they had a psychic on staff along with whatever the hell their leader is. I heard there’s only six of them. Six.”

“Bullshit.”

“I’m serious. I heard it from recon. They only ever spotted six different people going in or out of that place.”

“Maybe above ground. Torchwoods reach is two far to only be six people. They’ve got eyes everywhere.”

“You think they’re decoys?”

“They’re probably just front end staff. Paper pushers.”

“You think Torchwood even has paperwork?”

“Every organisation has paperwork.” 

The door handle turned and Jack took the opportunity to kick the door into the face of the one opening it, pointing his gun at the other resident of the room. 

The one the door had hit was out cold and his friend put his hands up. 

“You’re coming with us.” Jack said firmly. 

The man glanced to something on the bedside table.

“Don’t even think about it. I will shoot you.”

“And alert the whole neighbourhood? Osiris will find out. That’s who you’re after, right?”

“That’s what silencers were made for mate.” Owen grinned.

“I…” He leapt for the table before being shot in the arm, leaving him curled up around the injury on the floor. 

Jack dragged him away from the table and knocked him out with one punch. Owen looked in the small draw set into the table and found a two way radio that was thankfully off.

Alice Carter hated teacher training days, not because she didn’t want to spend time with her son, far from it, but because him being at home put her on edge. It had been like that since the incident where all the children in the world began speaking in unison. It didn’t matter that they’d moved since then, or that Steven had never caught on that his uncle hadn’t aged a day and turned up whenever trouble was brewing. A knock at the door made her jump and she hurried to open it. Two men stood on her doorstep, one in military fatigues and a red beret and the other in a suit with fresh stitches running down his forehead. 

“Can I help you?” She asked.

The man with the stitches spoke first. “I’m sorry to bother you ma’am but you and your son need to come with us.”

“And why would that be? Who are you?”

“My name is Colonel Neil Warwick of UNIT. You need to come with us immediately.”

“Do I have time to grab my coat?”

“You may, under escort, yes.”

She tried to keep her rising panic under control. She couldn’t call her dad or tell Steven to run. “Steven sweetheart, get your coat and your shoes on, ok?”

“But mum-” The little boy began to complain from his room. 

“Now please.”

He looked down from the top of the stairs and saw the figures at the front door. They made him nervous so he did what his mum told him. Remembering what his uncle Jack had told him once he grabbed his mums mobile phone and hit Jacks contact. If anything ever felt really wrong he’d been told to call his uncle. He didn’t even have to talk, just set it to call and leave it. He hid the phone under his mums pillow and went to grab his trainers and his coat. 

Rhys had a lot to catch up with after the day befores impromptu break. The yard hadn’t been hit too badly but the edges were all turned over where roots had grown up through the tarmac. He’d spent most of the morning calling around to try and find someone to repair it that wasn’t booked until new years. He was the only one on site after they all had to catch up with missed deliveries. That made it even stranger when he heard a van pull up. He looked out of the window, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach. He took a photo of the licence plate and sent it to Gwen with the message:  _ This lot look a bit sketchy. Call me in ten? _

It had just sent when the office door was kicked in.

Jack glared across the table at the osiris agent that he’d hit with the door. The man had been patched up by Owen just enough to let him talk though it didn’t take away from the nasty black eye or his swollen, broken, nose. 

“Where’s your boss?” Jack asked, getting straight to the point.

The man glared back but didn’t answer. 

“Listen, I don’t know what he’s promised you but if he gets what he wants then this whole world will burn. Understand? Everyone you’ve ever known or loved will die and it’ll be because you didn’t want to talk.”

Still nothing.

“Yea, in these four walls you have no right to remain silent. If I have to cut the answer out of you I will and trust me, I’m damn good at it.”

He narrowed his good eye. “I don’t know.”

“You sure about that?”

“Yes! We don’t get the whole plan, that’s the point.”

“So, what’s your part of the plan?”

“Lay low while Osiris deals with that UNIT moron.”

“Ok. Will the others we picked up say the same? Because it looks pretty bad for you if they don’t.”

“Go ahead and ask them then!”

An urgent knock on the interrogation room door interrupted them and Jack walked out, barely taking a second glance at the man still bound to the chair. Ianto stood in the hallway, holding Jacks phone. 

“What’s wrong?” The captain asked, a little annoyed that he’d been interrupted. 

He held out the device. “Alice called. I answered but noone spoke on the other end. I checked the GPS and her mobile’s at her home.”

“So you called the landline?”

“Yes, no answer.” He stopped Jack from marching back into the interrogation room, rage blazing in his eyes. “Wait. Gwen got a text from Rhys with an image of a number plate. He’s not answering his mobile or work phone either. Tosh is grabbing the CCTV and tracking the vehicle using the ANPR data from local speed cameras. Owen’s trying to keep Gwen from driving out there herself.”

“What are we waiting for, Tosh can send us directions on route.”

“They went missing at the same time. This was a planned operation. If we start charging out there you know what could happen.”

Jacks jaw clenched in frustration. “I can’t just sit here.”

“I’m not asking you to… I can’t get in touch with Rhiannon, and I called Mica and Davids school, they were pulled out by people using UNIT identification. Johnny isn’t answering his mobile and his boss said he hasn’t been seen since this morning. Martha says there is no record of a UNIT operation anywhere even close.”

“I… Ok. We’ll get them all back safe. Osiris is taking our families but he won’t kill them because then he loses his bargaining chips. That gives us time.”

“What about Mels family, Tosh’s mom, even Owens mom?”

“Tosh called her mum and she’s ok so it looks like their reach hasn’t spread overseas. Owen said he’d call, but his mum would likely try and join them. Mel’s making calls now. Apparently her mum and dad are safe but she hasn’t reached either of her sisters yet.”

“I should have known yesterdays events were a distraction.”

“We couldn’t have seen this coming.”

Jack took a slow breath, trying to figure out his next move. “He’ll probably want the eyes we have.”

“That we don’t have anymore.”

“Pack up the broken ones. If he wants them he can have them in pieces.” 


	5. Thorns

Alice watched her son talking quietly to the other little boy that was locked in the large room with them. David was his name, she was sure. The room was huge, the size of a school gym, that contained two tables with many chairs, enough fold out cots for them all to sleep and a single old TV. A set of two doors led to men and womens bathrooms. It looked like a kind of bomb shelter but it was clearly being used as a prison. The guards might have spoken to her as if it was her choice and for her own protection but the way they looked at her said nothing they said was a request. The far door clunked open and a man was escorted inside. It looked like he was being compliant but the rage that burned in his eyes said he only was because he didn’t want to get shot. That rage ebbed and turned to surprise that other people were there at all. He walked over to the couple at the other table as, she guessed, they looked a lot more friendly than she did. She didn’t mean to look hostile to the other people there. After all, they were victims too. She was just scared and her mother had always taught her that the only person she could really trust was herself. Her ex husband had always told her that was silly. Then again, he left so there had to be some truth to it. 

She listened in to the conversation at the other table. 

“Hello. I’m Rhys.” The new man introduced himself, taking a seat. 

The woman, her daughter cuddled up on her lap, looked over. “Hi. I’m Rhiannon and this is Johnny. Do you know why we’ve all been brought here?”

“No, but I’ve got a few suspicions. I think we’re being held hostage.”

The other man, Johnny, took his hand away from the developing bruise on the side of his face from where he’d resisted being abducted. “For what? Noone I know has any money worth all this.”

“I don’t think it’s about money. Do you have any family who are really secretive about what they do for work?”

“No… I don’t think so. I mean there’s Ianto but he’s secretive about everything.”

“Ianto Jones?”

“Yea, he’s my brother in law. But who’d be after him? He does office work.”

“He works with my fiancée, Gwen.”

Rhiannon stared at him for a moment. “He’s mentioned a Gwen before. What does she do?”

“It’s a government job I think. She used to be a police officer so it has to be linked to law enforcement.”

“It’s all because of Jack Harkness.” Alice said coldly as she walked over to the table. 

Rhys didn’t say anything at first, hoping to keep the Torchwood link vague. 

Johnny broke the silence. “Didn’t Ianto say his boyfriend was called Jack?”

“Yea.” Rhiannon nodded. “He’s not in some gang or something is he?”

Alice smirked. “No, if it was that easy we wouldn’t be here. These people pretending to be UNIT are after Torchwood.” 

Gwen had finally conceded that she was better off staying at the hub until they knew where the van had ended up. Melody sat with her, trying to ease her worries. 

“Rhys can hold his own and he knows how to play along. He’ll be ok.” Mel assured her.

She nodded, wringing her hands to ease some of the nervous energy. “I know.”

“We won’t let him get hurt.”

“If we have a choice.”

“If we can get close we have a choice.”

She turned her gaze to the woman whos hair was completely covering her eyes, an unusual energy almost flowing from her. “Mel, what are you thinking of doing?”

“Osiris knows something important. I need to get it out of him.”

“We’re not going to put you in danger-”

“Gwen, this time I’m not taking no for an answer. I’m going with you and I don’t care if I have to tie myself to the roof to do it. This group will be relatively small and all they have is guns. I can disarm them easily. The only one I’ll even need to concentrate on is Osiris and… I think… I know I can do it.”

“What’s Jack said?”

“He doesn’t know yet.”

“What don’t I know?” Asked Jack as he approached, rubbing the knuckles of his right hand that were swiftly healing. 

Melody stood and took a calming breath. “I’m coming with you to deal with Osiris.”

“And who made that decision?” He raised an eyebrow and looked to Gwen, who just shrugged, a mix of worry and bewilderment on her face. “You know you’re not field trained.”

“I know, but if we don’t defeat Osiris I’ve felt what will happen. This isn’t about regulations anymore. This is about the end of this world and every living being on it. I won’t sit on the sidelines and watch.”

“What happens if you get hurt? Die?”

“If we fail I’ll die anyway.”

“And what else? Be completely honest and I’ll consider it.”

“I think Osiris may know who gave me my telepathy and keeps sending threats my way. Ma’at said she was sure there was something pulling the strings, something that manipulated my world as subtly as possible to stay hidden.”

“He’ll never tell you.”

“I don’t need him to tell me. I just need to get close enough to read his mind. I don’t like it but he’s done enough to us that he’s lost any mercy from me. I won’t get anything complex from his mind as it’s too alien for me but I can get images. I just need one memory from one meeting. Just one.” 

He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Will you be able to do what needs to be done?”

“Can I kill if necessary? Yes.” 

David had half been listening to the adults conversation. “So my uncle Ianto is going out with your uncle Jack?”

“I think so.” Steven said, matter of factly. “Mum doesn’t like to talk about him but I think he’s cool.”

“I think uncle Ianto’s pretty cool too. When a pipe in our house burst he paid so we could stay in a hotel. It had a pool so we could go swimming and had a really huge slide. Mum said I couldn’t go on it but dad let me. It was awesome.” 

“Uncle Jack always sends the best christmas presents. Mum always makes excuses why he can’t visit but she thinks I don’t know.”

“That’s mean.”

“Yea. I asked what he does at work once but no one will tell me.”

“Mum says uncle Ianto works in an office but she says he doesn’t talk about it much.”

Steven smiled a little. “Maybe they’re secret agents.”

“What?”

“Well, they both have lots of money and never talk about their jobs. Maybe they’re spies.” 

David chuckled a little. “In Wales?”

“Or they’re like men in black.”

“Fighting aliens?”

“Yea. That’s why they never talk about it. They’ve got to keep it secret.”

“Maybe the people who kidnapped us are really aliens dressed up like humans.”

“You think?”

“Yea. They’re going to come and rescue us with laser guns and stuff.”

Rhys tried to keep his poker face as the two boys had essentially worked out what it had taken Gwen showing him the hub to fully comprehend. 

Tosh had narrowed down where Rhys, Alice, Rhiannon and the others were being held to an ex UNIT base. It had been decommissioned after budget cuts made it unviable to remain open. She’d sent the co-ordinates to Martha who was going to send a team to back Torchwood up as soon as she could. Half way through the drive there a call came through to Iantos phone from an unknown number. Jack pulled over and silenced the engine. 

“Hello?” He answered, as if he was completely oblivious to the fact that his sister had been abducted, and put the call on loudspeaker. 

“Mr Jones, I presume you know why I’m calling?”

“No. Who are you? And why are you calling me?”

“Don’t act stupid Mr Jones. It doesn’t suit you. By now you know where your family is being held. My followers aren’t exactly subtle.”

“What do you want to release them?”

“Right to the point-” Osiris’ smirk was almost audible, “- I want the eyes of Egypt you already have contained and Captain Harkness to be delivered to me.”

“And you’ll let them go unharmed.”

“I guarantee they will remain completely safe as long as you do as I tell you.”

He looked to Jack, who nodded slowly.

“So? What do you say Mr Jones?”

“You’ll get what you want as long as you keep your end of the deal.” 

“A smart move. And as I am not unreasonable I will sweeten this deal. You bring me the rest of your little clan and your family will be set for the rest of their lives. No need to answer now. I’ll know when you arrive.” The call dropped. 

Ianto looked like he wanted to throw his phone out of the window. 

Jack revved the engine back to life. “Let’s give him exactly what he deserves.” 

“He might be bulletproof but he’s not Torchwood proof.”

“Or plasma cannon proof for that matter.” Gwen smirked. 

“True. How are we facing this now we have a little more of a clue what he wants?”

Jack glanced to the rear view mirror. “We’re going to play along until we get inside unless they make a move first. Melody, if you sense any of them intending to fire then drop them where they stand.”

“Yes sir.” Mel replied from the back, the usual softness of her voice gone, replaced with a kind of numbness that made Jack wonder if he’d made a mistake. That was until he noticed her clutching the pendant around her neck, her thumb pressed into it so hard the digit was going white. She was just hiding her fear better than she used to. A few months before and she would have been falling apart or in a full telepathic meltdown. The latter was still a possibility depending on how this went.

Gwen looked over her shoulder to the woman who gave her a reassuring nod and smile.

“The side road you’ll need to take is partially hidden, on your left in half a mile.” Tosh said, her eyes glued to her screen.

Jack nodded. “Tosh, the moment you can, try and cut their communications. He can’t order his people to harm the hostages if he can’t contact them. Owen, be prepared for the worst case scenario. I don’t think for a second he’d risk harming anyone prematurely but we never know.”

“Right.” Owen said. “And Martha says she has a full medical team on standby. Her people should be at the base in an hour.” 

“Good. Tell her to prioritise the hostages. Our priority is Osiris. Keep comms open.”

They stepped out of the SUV to be met with four armed guards and a man with a set of stitches decorating his forehead. 

“I’m glad you’ve chosen to do as I asked.” He clicked his fingers at the two guards on the right. “Take Mr Jones and Miss Cooper to see their families.”

The two guards nodded and ushered Ianto and Gwen to a side door. 

“The rest of you follow me. Oh and Miss Archer? I have my own telepaths here so don’t try anything you may regret.” 

She didn’t answer him, letting the telepathic suppression wash over her as not to warn them of what she was capable of. She wasn’t the same telepath they’d kidnapped last time. She was so much stronger. 


	6. Belladonna

Jack knew he had to be careful. Not rile Osiris up too much. Sadly Osiris didn’t seem like he was going to offer the same courtesy. 

“I’m sorry it had to come to this Jack. Though I find your daughter has very little good to say about you.” He said as he walked into the large office that smelled strongly of incense. 

The captain rolled his eyes. “Yea, well she takes after her mother.” 

“You wouldn’t believe how much trouble it was to find her. Thankfully her mother didn’t seem to hate UNIT as much as she hated Torchwood. I was going to allow you to say goodbye but she didn’t like the idea.” 

“I’d be upset if I thought for a moment you were telling the truth.” 

He shrugged and sat in what was essentially a throne. “Believe whatever you wish, it won’t matter in a few minutes. Once I have a perfect vessel and some of my siblings nothing will matter. I’ll admit, I was consumed with rage after our last meeting, but now we’re face to face that has ebbed. Though there is one problem I want to erase before I take my place.”

“And what’s that?”

“Miss Archer. I think you would be an asset to me, even in my complete form. So, either join me or die a long and painful death.”

Melody didn’t look up. “No.”

“I thought you might say that.” He snapped his fingers and she felt a sharp pain shoot through her head, sending her collapsing to her knees. “The telepath you dealt with was impressive, but nothing compared to the two I have here. So, what do you say now?”

She shook off the pain easily but didn’t get up, he could think she was out if he wanted. “No.”

“Still? You’re more stubborn than you look. I wonder how much it’ll take before you accept my offer.” 

“Stop!” Owen growled, unable to hold his tongue any longer. He got a kick to the back of his knees for his trouble. 

“You should stay silent Dr Harper, or I may put a bullet in the back of Miss Satos head.”

The two telepaths in the room, a middle aged man and woman, began to stagger as blood ran down from their noses. Melody almost felt sorry for them as they hit the floor, unconscious. 

Osiris stood. “What?!” He gestured for one of the armed guards to check on them. 

“They’re breathing but… I don’t know what just happened sir.” The guard said after checking for a pulse on each. 

Rhys looked up as he heard the large cell door unlatch, smiling as Gwen entered. She ran over to hug him.

“Did they hurt you?” She asked, checking him over. 

He shook his head. “I’m ok. What’s going on?”

“Just stay calm, we’re working on it.” 

“Uncle Ianto!” Mica squeaked, her mum standing and holding onto her hand tightly. 

Ianto gave the eight year old a calming smile. “Are you ok?”

She nodded but didn’t leave her mums side.

“What the hell is going on Ianto? Who are these people?” Rhiannon asked, looking past him at the armed guards that were filing into the room. 

He calmly replied. “Just sit down and I’ll explain.”

“Ianto-” Her eyes shot wide and she grabbed Mica, pulling her into her arms and covering her eyes.

“Just please s-” His words were cut short by the sound of gunfire, his shirt turning a bright crimson. He pressed a hand to the wet mark on his chest as the room filled with screams.

Johnny picked up the two boys and carried them into the bathroom, out of view or the line of fire. He was followed by Rhiannon who was already in hysterics, gripping onto a very confused Mica like she was providing oxygen. Alice was next, followed by Rhys and Gwen. Tears rolled down Gwens face as she drew the gun hidden under the back of her jacket. 

“Ianto’s been shot.” She gasped out, knowing that the others could hear her. “Oh god.”

Only silence followed and seconds turned to minutes, all expecting the guards to immediately follow them into the enclosed room and finish the job but they didn’t. Gwen steadied her breath enough to check beyond the thin wooden door, ready to fire if necessary. When she did she saw Ianto sitting up and every one of the guards on the floor. 

“Rhys, unless I say so, keep everyone in here, ok?” She said, glancing back to the huddled families. 

Rhys wanted to stop her. He wanted to hold her and never let go but he knew she needed to do her job, it was just how she kept going. He nodded. “Be careful.”

She stepped out, her gun aimed at her fallen friend. 

Ianto turned his head. 

Jacks head felt fuzzy, like he’d been hit in the head with something, as he realised he was on the floor. He wasn’t crying but he felt tears falling from his eyes. He turned to see Tosh and Owen in the same mix of confusion and constant tears. What had happened? He remembered hearing gunfire and then… Oh… Ianto. Gwen had reported that Ianto had been shot. Had the chip not worked? No, he had to believe it had worked. He had to. Was this feeling what Osiris had done? Osiris. Where was he? Jack looked around and focused on the man with the stitches. Or he’d previously had stitches in his head before he’d ripped them out. He had begun ripping at the open wound, flashes of gold visible underneath the mangled flesh. 

“Stop!... How are you… What are you…” Osiris begged before he rammed his own head into the floor. 

Jack turned to the direction the parasite was looking and saw Melody, tears pouring down her cheeks, both eyes their bright silver as she stared at the creature. He could feel the telepathic energy radiating from her. This was why everyone was crying. She was projecting her feelings. 

“Melody!” The captain managed to cry out. “Stop! You can have Osiris but Ianto’s ok. I know it.” His words were slurred and he could barely see. 

She didn’t look away from Osiris. “He was shot, how could he possibly be ok?” Her voice drifted as if she was much further away than she actually was.

He tried to answer her but he could barely form words. 

“He’s immortal!” Owen barked, eyes closed tightly to try and pull his thoughts together. “The Doctor gave him something. He’ll be ok… Melody please. This hurts.” The mental haze dissipated immediately and he could properly see again. 

“I’m sorry.” Mel whimpered. “I didn’t mean to.” She looked down at her hands and then over to Osiris, the giant isopod laying on the floor covered in what was left of its hosts head. 

Jack took the opportunity and scrambled over, aiming his gun at the creatures underbelly and firing. Just as he thought, the outer shell was bulletproof, but the inside was not. 

“Gwen, report.” 

Her voice, shaky and weak replied. “He… He’s ok. I don’t know what happened. Is Osiris doing this?”

“Osiris is dead.” He smiled. “It’s over.”

The old base was swarmed by UNIT soldiers not long after. Martha personally insisted on checking Ianto over. He was fine, better than fine, he didn’t have a mark on him. Though his shirt had been obliterated. 

“What are you going to tell your sister?” She asked, handing him a fresh shirt. 

He took it gratefully and slipped it on. “It was a cruel trick. Just a paintball.”

“Are you ok?”

“You just checked me over.” 

She sat on the edge of the table. “You know what I mean.”

“I… I mean I’m happy to be alive.” He looked at his hands, now clean. “For a moment I thought it hadn’t worked. It didn’t even hurt at first… Then it burned worse than anything I’ve ever felt… Then it was gone. It was like a nightmare I just woke up from… I don’t think it’s even sunk in yet.” He returned to buttoning up his shirt. “I should go and see Rhiannon. Christ, the kids saw that.”

“Only when you’re ready. And don’t worry, I think Gwen insisted on talking to them and smoothing things over.” 

“Thanks.”

A slight commotion could be heard just outside the makeshift clinic tent as Rhiannon practically fought her way in. Martha waved the guards off so she could see her brother. She wrapped her arms around her brother, sobbing into his shoulder. 

Gwen peeked in through the doorway of the tent. “Everyone decent in here?” 

“Yep.” Martha smiled. “Looks like he’s ok for visitors too.”

She gestured for Johnny to enter, Mica gripped onto him and David holding onto the hem of his teeshirt for comfort. 

“You scared us there.” He said, trying to hide just how scared he’d been. “I don’t know what kind of monster pulls shooting someone with paint in this situation. It’s sick. Glad you’re ok though.”

Ianto smiled gently. “It scared me too. I thought it was over for a second there.” He rubbed Rhiannons back as she hickuped, attempting to stop the barrage of sobs. 

“David wanted to come and make sure you were alright.”

The young boy was trying to hide that he’d been crying but he wasn’t doing well. He walked over next to his mum and seemed to calm down a lot, Ianto ruffling his hair. 

Martha walked outside to give the family a few moments to decompress. “I thought we were too late.” She said, looking to Gwen.

“Me too. Thanks for this. It’s a good distraction.” Gwen replied, gesturing over to Jack who had Steven sat on his hip as if he were a toddler and not an eleven year old, pointing to the large military vehicles and explaining what each was for. “I think your lot have accepted Tosh as their commander too.” 

Martha chuckled, looking over to Tosh who was pointing to where each confiscated item was supposed to go and telling people off for handling things wrongly. “Good for her. Maybe they can learn a few things. Where’s Owen?”

“He’s with Melody. I don’t know exactly what happened but she looked pretty shaken up when I saw her.”

Owen handed Melody a bottle of water. “Here.”

“Thanks.” She almost whispered. She took a sip and stared into the footwell. The SUV was quiet and familiar so it was a decent place to decompress. 

“You ready to talk about what happened back there?” 

She screwed the cap back onto the bottle and held it between her shaking hands. “I … I was so angry… And scared and… I lost control. I just wanted all those soldiers gone and Osiris to suffer. I never wanted to hurt you.” She sniffed, trying to stop herself from crying again. 

He took her hand. “Hey, we’re ok. All of us, yea?”

“Did I kill them? The soldiers?”

“Naa. I mean you knocked them out and messed up their limbs, but I think I’d have done worse.”

“Their limbs?”

“I think you made their muscles contract so hard a lot of them tore. Everything’s controlled by the brain after all. That’s how you controlled Osiris, wasn’t it.”

“The man he was using wasn’t fully dead. His brain was still intact enough to fire off signals… I didn’t even stop to find out if Osiris had seen the one pulling the strings.”

“We’ll find them. It was a long shot anyway.”

“I should have stayed at the hub.”

“None of that. If you hadn’t taken the guards down after they shot Ianto then all of his family, Jacks family and even Gwen and Rhys would be dead.”

“But what I did to Osiris-”

“He deserved it.”

“I made him kill himself. I’m a monster.”

“No, you did what had to be done. Torchwood makes you do things you never would have considered, but you do it for the right reasons. You helped stop the end of the bloody world today. That means a lot.”

“Thanks.” Her voice cracked a little. “And thanks for standing up for me. How’s your leg?”

He scoffed. “It was barely a tap. I’m fine. Anyway, you’re one of us, course I’m going to stand up for you.”

“Still.” She smiled sleepily. “I’m glad it’s over now. Maybe I can get some proper sleep.”

“You might as well take a nap. We’re probably going to be here for a bit while this lot gets cleaned up.”

She nodded and closed her eyes, leaning her head back on the seat. 

Tosh sighed, ready for the day to be over. Most of the items had been placed in secure boxes and carted to vehicles for transport. She was happy to hand this whole thing over to UNIT and be done with it. She made her way over to Jack and the woman he was talking to. Alice she presumed. 

“So what now? Are you just going to drug us to forget all this?” The woman asked, her face sour. 

He looked downright depressed as he answered. “Only if you want to. Steven believes it was just a horrible trick and he’ll forget as he gets older anyway.”

“Why couldn’t you just keep us out of this?”

“I’ve tried. What else can I do? For ninety nine percent of the world I don’t even exist, let alone have family. Hell, my own team didn’t know about you for a very long time. This was an end of the world situation. I know your mom wanted you to be protected from all this, but the world isn’t like it was when you were born. People know about daleks and cybermen. The whole world saw when the kids were affected by the four five six.”

“And what do you know about me or mum? It’s not as if you were there.”

“And whos fault was that?!”

“You-”

“She took you away, changed your name, acted like I didn’t exist. I tried Alice. I tried so damn hard to be in your life and when your mom said she didn’t want me around to protect you I accepted that. I made sure you’d never be without what you needed. Even now I still support you and Steven.” Maybe it was the after effect of the telepathic beating he’d taken but he couldn’t stop himself talking. Couldn’t stop himself being honest. “I’m not perfect and I know that me not aging is strange to you, but I can’t help that. I can’t just switch it off. I never asked for it. So what do you want from me? What can I do or say?” 

“Dad, what are you talking about? Mum said you stopped bothering after she left.”

“Like hell I did! It took me months to find both of you after she just up and left. When you were a baby who do you think stayed up all night with you? Why do you think I’ve tried so damn hard to be part of your life?”

“I thought you felt guilty about everything. Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“I wasn’t going to bad mouth your mother.”

She looked like a deer caught in the headlights from an oncoming truck. “I… I need to think about this… I need to take Steven home.” She rushed past him, towards where Steven and David were sat, waiting for their transport home. 

Jack deflated running his hands over his face. 

“Jack?” Tosh said softly, fully ready to pretend she hadn’t seen or heard a thing.

He rubbed his eyes, quickly pulling himself together. “I didn’t see you there. Everything set?”

“Yes. Are you ok?”

“Don’t worry about me. Everyone’s safe and alive, the world isn’t ending and…” He could see in her eyes that she wasn’t buying it for a second. “I’m ok. We should get back so you can get some rest.”

“Have you seen Ianto?”

“It was the first thing I did. I left him with Martha in the medical tent.”

“Is he…”

“He’s fine. Good as new as far as I could tell.”

“Good.” 

“Why don’t you see if he’s ready to go. I’ll be with you in a minute.”

She rubbed his arm sympathetically before turning to go and find Ianto. 


	7. Poison ivy

Greg, Marthas assistant, rushed over to her as she was waving goodbye to her friends. She’d told them she’d see them tomorrow once they’d had chance to let everything sink in. 

“Dr Jones?” He asked, sounding as unnerved as he felt. 

“Is everything ok?”

“Yes… Well, no. One of the prisoners has just woken up and he’s asking for whoever’s in charge.”

“Tell him he’s not going to be able to talk himself out of this.”

“I don’t think he’s trying to. He’s… Just please come and see him?” 

She studied him in the swiftly dimming light. He was an intelligent and kind hearted man but not a coward and something had shaken him. “Alright. Lead the way.”

He led her to one of the large tents that were acting as a field hospital, past rows of beds holding unconscious men, some of which looked like a tangle of limbs. It was amazing what the human body could do to itself if given the wrong signals. At the far end she heard a soft whimpering coming from a bed with the curtains drawn around it. He pulled back the curtain for her. 

“Mr Roberts? This is Dr Jones, she’s the most senior officer here.” He said tentatively. 

The man in the bed turned his wild eyes to look at Martha. “Y-you? I recognise you. Yes. You’re the head of medical.”

“I am.” She replied. “Just take a deep breath and stay calm. What did you want to talk to me about?”

“In there… We brought those Torchwood people in. Osiris told us to take two of them to the hostages then execute them. I didn’t want to but he promised to bring my wife back. She died a year ago.” He explained, rocking back and forth to comfort himself. “When Terry took the shot and the one bloke fell I felt it. A monster in my head. I could feel it in my brain, clawing its way through. My body moved without me wanting it to. It was inside me and… And…” He lifted his one working arm and laced his hands in his hair. “Fuck! It looked like a girl. One of them. This blonde girl with silver eyes. God those eyes, staring right into me, ripping me apart.” He began to sob. “That thing wasn’t human. It can’t have been. The whole time I was out I could hear the others screaming in their heads. I was screaming too. I had to have been… You have to stop that thing. Kill it! Dr Jones, you can’t let that monster escape.” He reached out for her but was swiftly pushed back and sedated, still screaming about the monster in his head until the drugs took effect. 

Tosh kicked off her shoes the moment she got in the door to Owens flat. Partially out of manners and habit and partially because she wanted to be able to collapse into the first soft surface she found. 

“Should I order dinner or do you want to just crash?” Asked Owen, following her inside.

She sunk into the sofa. “I should get proper food.”

“But that takes energy so bugger that.” He kicked off his boots and grabbed a stack of menus from the kitchen counter before collapsing into the soft cushions of the sofa with her. “How’re you feeling now?”

She took the stack of menus and began flicking through. “I’m not light headed anymore and my eyes aren’t as sore. You?”

“I’m the king of brushing off hangover symptoms.”

“Only if you spend six hours in bed.” She laughed.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Oi, I haven’t done that in ages. And you’re worse than me. Grumpy hangover Tosh is not a nice person.”

“Only if you make noise. If you’re quiet then hangover Tosh can be a delight.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” 

She let the menus sit on her lap and sighed. “I wonder why Ianto didn’t say anything sooner. About his immortality I mean.”

“He only told me yesterday. You know what he’s like, he’ll try and deal with it alone until he can’t anymore.”

“I know, but still. I thought we were closer than that.”

“Don’t take it personally.” He took one of the menus and opened it. “I don’t think he really believed it until today. I don’t know if I believed it until today. I just thought it might help Mel calm down.”

“That’s another thing, I’ve never seen a telepath do that before. People with telekinesis yes, well, a little. But she was distorting the very air around her.”

“I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow. Let her enjoy the victory tonight.”

Ianto yawned, ready to call it a night. Jack had been clingy since they’d gotten back, not that he could blame him, it had been a hell of a day. They’d decided to spend the night at Iantos flat, just for a change and to give them some distance from any rift alerts. They needed time to just be human, just exist together, be normal. That was made a little more difficult when Ianto was in the shower. He looked down at his chest. There was no scar to remind him of what had happened, but his mind didn’t forget so quickly, he pressed his fingers against the skin and winced. Not in pain, but at how he clearly remembered how much further his fingers pressed into the exit wound, how the blood had felt both burning hot and cold at the same time as it poured over his fingers. He crumpled to the floor. Just sitting in the tray of the shower, white as a sheet and shaking. Jack heard the thud of Ianto landing on the floor and knocked on the bathroom door.

“You ok? Ianto?” There was no answer. “Ianto?” The door was unlocked so he let himself in. He turned the water off and knelt on the bathroom floor, pulling Ianto into his arms, not giving a damn about getting wet. He just sat and let Ianto cry it out. He wasn’t too proud to admit that the second time he’d died he’d had a similar breakdown, except he’d faced it alone. He wasn’t going to let Ianto go through that. Not alone. He pulled a large towel from the cabinet and wrapped the welshman in it before helping him to the bedroom and sitting him down somewhere he wasn’t going to get colder than he already was. 

“Sorry.” Ianto mumbled, his gaze locked on the floor. 

Jack sat next to him. “Don’t be. You want to talk about it?”

He shook his head. 

“Ok. I’m here when you’re ready.”

“Just… Stay.”

Melody had held herself together pretty well before she’d gotten home. Even with the relentless screams and begging voices swirling around her mind. She dropped her coat and bag by the door, items spilling out across the carpet, and stumbled out of her shoes. She curled up on the sofa, hands clamped over her ears and eyes squeezed tightly closed as if that would block any of it out. It didn’t help. So many promises of the impossible tangled into memories that weren’t her own, families, children, siblings, husbands and wives. It was too much. She needed to ground herself, filter out all the noise, feel something real. She stumbled over to the draws that held her art supplies and pulled out a large canvas board. She knocked a tube of black acrylic down before grabbing a few tubes of watercolour. Feverishly she began, feeling the canvas under her fingertips as she spread the paint across its surface. It was enough to let her get some water to aid in the production of whatever this would end up being. For the next two hours she painted, not caring about how much got on her skin or clothes. Finally the voices ebbed to nothing, letting her think. She left the canvas to dry and sleepily flopped into the bathtub, turning on the shower to rinse away the paint that she’d managed to cover her hands, arms and smudged across her face. She could try and salvage her clothes in the morning. For the night they could stay where they fell in the tub. After a long shower, feeling a lot more human, she dried off and dragged herself to bed. 

Gwen had barely let Rhys out of her sight since leaving the decommissioned UNIT base. It had been too easy for him to just be spirited away. Never to be seen again. She couldn’t let that happen.

“You alright love?” He asked. She’d usually rolled away from him by this point but she was still cuddled into his side. 

She shrugged. “I’m just… I thought I’d lost you when you didn’t answer your phone. I know it’s silly.”

“It’s not silly… That’s how I feel every time I can’t get in contact with you.”

“How do you cope?”

“I trust you. I know you can handle yourself, but if you ever need rescuing… I know I’m not Torchwood or anything but I’d find a way.”

She smiled, knowing he was completely serious. “You would as well.”

“I would. And I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” He kissed the top of her head. “It’s been a day… Those poor kids, seeing everything they did.”

“They’ll probably be given a little retcon and won't remember any of it.”

“Is that safe?”

“Yea. It’s been tested even for kids. I don’t know if Ianto’ll be up for it though. And Mel… Who knows how she’s feeling tonight. Owen said she was feeling guilty about what she had to do.”

“She saved us.”

“Yea. She heard the shot and it just pushed her over the edge. She thought she’d just lost one of her best friends. That’s when those guards twisted themselves up.”

“How could she tell we weren’t one of them?”

“She knows our minds, what they sound like, I suppose.”

“And Ianto’s immortal now. When did that happen?”

“Apparently the Doctor gave him something when she visited but it was news to me too. The only ones who knew were Jack, obviously, and Owen. He’ll probably talk about it in the morning… I can’t even imagine what that must have felt like.”

“He’ll be ok. He’s strong.”

“Stronger than most. Today really was just a bit shit, wasn’t it.”

“It was, but tomorrow’s a new day and you don’t need to worry about Osiris ever again.” 

She smiled and pulled the duvet up over her shoulder. “When did you get so philosophical?”

“Around the time I found out aliens existed.” 

The temperature dropped as the night wore on, flakes of snow falling softly and blanketing the city in a shroud of white. By early morning the snow had swallowed up all sound. Awakening to snow was always a blessing for Torchwood as the weevils stayed in their nests when it got that cold. They’d huddle together near waste water pipes as people took hot showers and baths to chase away the chill. Jack liked the look of the snow but he wasn’t exactly a fan of being out in it. He preferred to sit inside with a hot cup of coffee and someone warm. That someone looked like he agreed. Ianto had taken one look at the falling snow and climbed back into bed.

“Can we claim we’ve been snowed in?” He asked, his voice rough and slightly muffled by his pillow.

Jack laughed, the sound deep and as warm as the bed itself. “I don’t think they’ll buy it. If Martha wasn’t visiting I’d call it a snow day and let everyone stay in bed.”

“She could come here.” He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and rested his head on his chest, listening to his heart beat.

“Gwen would never forgive us.”

“Just… Five more minutes then. It’s too cold to be awake.” 

“No arguments here.”

The buzzer in Melodys flat pulled her from putting on layers. She tossed her jumper over the back of the sofa and hit the open door button. A minute or so later there was a knock at her door. Owen had called her asking if she wanted a lift and said he didn’t mind waiting as long as he could wait inside. She opened the door to see a very chilly looking Owen and Tosh, both bundled up and shivering. 

“Morning.” Tosh said brightly.

“Morning. Come on in. I’m almost ready.”

Owen relaxed his shoulders as he walked into the toasty apartment. “Take your time. Apparently Jack and Ianto are somehow late so the heating isn’t going to be on at the hub when we get there anyway.”

“Well, it will be in the cells and for Myfanwy.” Tosh corrected, placing her gloved hands on the nearest radiator. 

“That doesn’t stop me freezing my knackers off in the med bay though.”

“True.” 

“How is Ianto?” Mel asked as she dug her boots out of the bottom of her wardrobe. “After yesterday I mean.”

Owen shrugged lightly. “He sounded fine to me. It’s hard to tell over the phone. That he’s willing to come into work at all says he must be stable at least.” 

“That’s good.” 

He looked over to the other side of the living room and noticed the art supplies left strewn on the rug. “Not been sleep drawing again, have you?”

“No. That was what I started last night.” She sat on the sofa and started lacing up her boots. “It’s probably awful.”

Tosh craned her neck to see. “Can we look?”

“If you really want to. I wouldn’t expect much.”

She wandered over, unzipping and slipping off her boots. The canvas was decorated in stark grayscale, the silhouette of a woman wrapped in thorny vines was the centrepiece. Tosh rubbed her eyes and swore she could see multiple faces screaming. They were clearer the longer she looked and she could almost hear them. No, she could definitely hear them. 

“Tosh!” Owen said firmly, snapping her out of her trance. 

She looked up at him. “Sorry I…” The residual tingle in her mind reminded her of the awful feeling from the painting of the orange skyline. 

“You ok?” He pressed the back of his hand to her forehead.

“I think so. Melody? Do you mind if I wrap this up and take it to the hub with us?”

Mel stood and grabbed her coat. “If you want to. I was probably going to throw it out anyway. Why?”

“I just want to test something.”

“I think I’ve got some newspaper around here somewhere. One sec.” She disappeared into the kitchen. 

Owen lowered his voice to a whisper. “Testing what?”

“The paintings are giving off telepathic residue. I need to find out if it’s from her or one of the materials.” Tosh explained swiftly. 


	8. Wilting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little warning for rat death in this one. Stay safe all.

Gwen rubbed her hands together as she slid into her chair, the ghost of warmth returning to her fingers. As if he’d been summoned by her discomfort alone Ianto appeared and placed her usual mug, still steaming, on her desk with a soft smile.

“You’re an angel.” She smiled gratefully. “How are you feeling?”

“Cold.”

She chuckled. “You know what I mean.”

“I’m fine. I’m more worried about seeing Rhiannon and Johnny later.”

“Oh, Owen said to talk to him before you did anything about that.”

“Don’t tell me he’s found something wrong with the amnesia pills. Peoples heads exploding? They’re actually some kind of alien egg and they’re hatching? Don’t answer that, around here it’s possible.”

“I bloody well hope not… I’m glad you’re ok. Yesterday I-”

“I know... We all walked out of there so I count that as a win. How’s Rhys?”

She decided to let the subject change as he clearly didn’t want to get into his own feelings. “Well, I woke up to him singing I’m dreaming of a white christmas so either he’s fine or he’s completely lost it. It’s hard to tell.”

“Christmas songs, the first sign of true insanity. God help us if he starts dancing.”

She almost shot her coffee out of her nose at the image. He gave her a warm smile and headed back to grab Tosh and Owens mugs, hearing them arrive. Tosh walked in gripping something wrapped in newspaper. 

“Morning. Have you seen Jack?” She asked, placing the A3 sized item down.

Gwen shook her head. “Not yet. I just got here too. Ianto? Where’s Jack?”

“Checking on Peaches and Raspberry.” He replied. “He’ll be back up in a minute.”

Melody walked in, pulling off her scarf, and handed a small hard drive over to Tosh. “The SUV did not want to give this up.” She said. 

“Oh, Mel, I’ve closed the office upstairs because of the snow. I’ve got some sorting to do if you want to join me.”

“Of course. I’d be happy to help.” 

“Martha’s going to be here around one but until then we can attempt sorting out where the eyes of Egypt used to be stored.”

“Oh yea, we didn’t bring them back, did we?”

“Jack gave them to UNIT as they were basically just rubbish anyway.” 

“True.”

Owen cut in before she had the chance to walk off. “Later, I want to do a couple of tests. Make sure yesterday didn’t do you any damage.”

“I feel fine but ok.”

Jack closed the fishers enclosure door, glad that they were unaffected by the cold of the outside world. They were, of course, native to much warmer climates but their sun lamp and the hubs heating were working just fine to keep them comfortable. He wondered if it would help Gray to see them, something familiar from happier times, but it was just as likely that they would be a reminder of gut rending pain. He made his way up the steps to the main area of the hub where he heard voices and the familiar sound of the coffee machine doing its vital work. He felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders without Osiris and his minions around and it put a slight spring in his step. He headed towards his office smiling brightly as he saw Tosh, Gwen and Owen. 

“I didn’t expect you to all make it in.” He said.

Tosh looked up and grabbed the wrapped painting. “Jack. You know the strange telepathic pull we felt from the painting Melody brought in yesterday? I don’t think it was a fluke.”

“Oh? What have you found?”

She pulled the tape from the newspaper and revealed the left half of the painting. 

He felt the effect almost immediately, distant screams echoing through his mind. “What is that?”

“I think it’s a kind of imprinted emotional state.”

“How?”

“Melody’s said before that she uses art as a way to vent when stressed, clear up her thoughts and calm her mind. My theory is she’s literally imbuing the painting with whatever she’s trying to rid her mind of. The other painting contained a feeling of being watched constantly, and this one contains her feelings about what happened yesterday. When she attacked all of those guards at once she also took the full brunt of their reactions which she then transferred into the image. The process essentially turns them into cognitohazards. We were both mesmerised just by looking so anyone without any kind of telepathic defence could be drawn in without a way out.” 

“I’d say that wasn’t possible but what happened yesterday wasn’t strictly possible either. We need to find out if this is something we can contain. Does it have a lasting effect. Is that effect universal. Does it work if the image is incomplete.”

Owen took the covered painting. “Well, looks like I’ve got something to work on.”

“Not on your own. Gwen, can you make sure he doesn’t end up getting caught by its effects?”

“Of course.” She agreed. 

“Once you have some idea of what we’re working with I can talk to Mel about it. For now let’s not upset her. Martha said she’s going to bring a team to remove our four prisoners today so we’ve got that to look forward to later. And Tosh I wanted to catch up with you on Ammits progress.”

Melody hopped down from the ladder, a clipboard tucked under her arm. “I’m glad I wore a jumper today.” 

“Sorry about the cold. No matter what I do it never seems to warm up in this room. None of the items stored here should affect the temperature so I think it’s just its position compared to the other rooms.” Ianto replied, rubbing his hands together to warm his cold fingers. 

“It’s ok. As long as I’m dressed for it I don’t mind.” She placed the clipboard down on the table. “I’m… I’m sorry about yesterday.”

“What for?”

“If I’d acted faster I could have stopped the guard from shooting you.”

“You couldn’t have known that was going to happen.”

“Still, if I’d put them down before you got to where everyone was being held it wouldn’t-”

“You can’t obsess over what ifs. You followed the plan, did what you should have and you limited the damage as best you could. I’m alive, aren’t I?” 

“By luck. I honestly thought you-” This time she cut herself off, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Sorry.” 

He pulled over two chairs, sat in one and gestured to the other. “Come on. Any job we all come back from without a hospital trip is a win. No matter how terrifying or painful it was, as long as we all come back then we’re ok.”

“I suppose.” She sat across from him. “I should be the one comforting you after everything.”

“Did you sleep last night?”

“Huh? Um… Yea. The dream didn’t come back so that’s nice… I woke up a few times. It was so quiet outside… Took a while to get back to sleep.”

“So, you’re recovering from a stressful event, mildly sleep deprived, and when was the last time you went out in daylight?”

“Last Sunday I suppose.”

“So you’re low on vitamin D as well. It’s no wonder you’re taking this so hard. Did you have breakfast?”

She studied her feet like a child that had been caught passing notes in class. “I wasn’t really hungry. I didn’t have dinner either.”

“Do you think you’d be up to a walk in the snow?”

“Yea, why?”

“We’re getting breakfast and some daylight.”

Owen lifted a black piece of paper from in between a rat in a small tank and the painting. He was standing behind it so he wasn’t affected. After exactly thirty seconds he placed the black paper back. The experiment was testing the effects strength depending on the length of exposure. The next rat would be exposed for a full sixty seconds and he guessed anything beyond that would produce the same result going by the reaction of the previous subject. Forty five seconds in and the small mammal had begun cowering at the back of its tank and rubbing at its ears as if trying to block something out. He placed a sheet over the painting so he could safely move around to observe all of the white rats. Gwen leaned over the railing. 

“Don’t you ever feel sorry for them?” She asked.

“All the time. Sadly simulations aren’t reliable enough to replace them. That’s why they get to live in rat paradise until they’re used. After that, if they’re hurt or traumatised I put them to sleep.”

She sighed. “I suppose.” 

“Time for part two.” He set up a camera on a timer to take a photo of the painting. When the photo printed he risked a glance at it. “I thought so.”

“About what?” 

“The effect isn’t passed onto copies of the painting. That’s a plus. Can you bring the rat behind you down?”

She picked up the small tank and placed it next to the one that had only seen the painting for a second. “And he’s the control rat?”

“Yep.” He showed the photo to the new rat who didn’t seem interested in the slightest. “Definitely no effect.” He moved onto the next rat, which gave the image a second glance but not much more. The one after seemed to study the image, sniffing at the glass, before going back to grooming its whiskers. The next sat in front of the photo, whiskers twitching, mesmerised. After a few seconds it too lost interest. The next rat was the one that was exposed to the painting for a full twenty seconds and upon seeing the photo it jumped and cowered at the back of its tank, staying like that until the photo was taken away. The rat that had seen the painting for a full thirty seconds looked nervous before the photo was even shown, and as soon as it did see the image it began trying to block its ears and didn’t stop after the image was removed. The final rat already looked distressed, still trying to block its ears. As soon as it saw the photo it froze and collapsed. He opened the tank and reached in, placing two fingers on its side. He frowned deeply. “It’s dead.”

“What?”

“When it was reminded of what it saw it was too much. I’ll need to dissect him to be sure but I think it caused so much stress his heart gave out.”

“And that was after how long?”

“Sixty seconds. It probably wouldn’t affect a human that quickly but the way it ramps up. For now I say the paintings should be burned.”

“Melody wouldn’t do this.”

“Not intentionally. Like Tosh said, it’s taken on what Mel wanted to get rid of. It’s a scaled up version of the message the fishers left in the Hydrangea apartments landlords old flat. Except that was asking for help and this is…”

“This is asking for a different kind of help?”

“It’s good she isn’t internalising all of this but… Yea.” 

  
  



	9. Winter rest

Martha had become comfortable enough with visiting the hub to let herself in with the visitors access card she’d been given. She’d just stepped into the main area of the hub when she was nearly hit by something. She wasn’t sure what as she opened one eye, having braced herself for the impact, but found herself untouched.

“Are you alright?” Asked Tosh, looking a little embarrassed. 

She nodded. “I think so. What was that?”

“We were testing Ammit.” 

The large robot padded over, an egg held gently in its jaws, the screen it had for eyes showing a question mark.

“It’s ok, good dodging.” Tosh smiled, taking the egg as Ammit showed happy eyes on its screen. “Charging time. Can you get back on your own?”

The robot nodded and bounded off like a happy puppy, making Martha giggle. “She’s definitely come a long way.”

“She’s only a few months away from field testing. Anyway, sorry, thanks for your help yesterday.”

“Oh, don’t mention it. The higher ups are glad we could get their mess cleaned up so quickly. They’re asking for a full report.” She frowned. “I should probably talk that over with all of you actually but first I need to talk to Jack in private.”

“You don’t sound very enthusiastic about that.”

“I’m not to be honest, but hopefully we can work something out.”

“About what?” Jack asked, jogging over. He’d been in his office, reading Owens notes about the paintings. 

Tosh gestured that she’d speak to them in a little while and walked off to finish up with Ammit, leaving Martha and Jack to talk.

Martha took a folder from her bag. “Can we talk somewhere in private?”

“Sure. Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know and that’s the problem.”

He walked up to the meeting room with her and offered her a chair before taking his own place at the table. 

“Jack, my bosses want a report but if I’m honest I have no idea what to tell them. I know we can all put something together but…” She opened the folder. “Last night the prisoners began waking up one by one and… Well, they were in pain of course but they… Some of these men have been in the military for years and they’ve handled some awful things but even they woke up screaming. They’ve all had to be sedated. They all have a few things they say in common. They see a monster with silver eyes that ripped through their minds. And there’s the two unregistered telepaths. They’re in a vegitative state.”

“Melody was just defending herself, and us.”

“I know. That’s not what I’m trying to put forward I just… I don’t know how to explain this away. My direct team are keeping quiet for now, but they have to give their own reports so my bosses don’t get suspicious. I trust you to not let anything get out of control, but I don’t think they’re going to feel the same. No telepath we’ve got on record has been able to do anything like this. They’re going to start asking questions.” 

He nodded, crossing his arms. “Tell them… Tell them it was Osiris. Something we didn’t know he was capable of. When he knew he wasn’t getting out of there alive he decided to take his people with him.”

“Why weren’t you hurt in it then?”

“We have our own telepath. Doing that might not be in the usual scope but protecting a smaller group is possible.”

“I might be able to spin that. I’ll need to talk to Owen about what we can and can’t show them.” 

“My priority is my teams safety. If that can’t be guaranteed then just tell your bosses I’m not cooperating. I’d prefer them to be on my back than be on hers.”

“I hope it won’t come to that.”

“And can you do me a favour?”

“Of course.”

“Don’t let Melody find out what’s happened to those people. I don’t think she should feel any guilt about it, but she’ll let it eat her alive.” 

Ianto had finally decided he had to talk to Owen before going to see his sister before the retcon dose became too large to be safe. That was his way of rationalising his increasing unease on the matter anyway. He peeked around the archway leading to the autopsy room to see Owen sitting with one of the rats on his shoulder. 

“Are you busy?” He asked. 

Owen gently took the rat from his shoulder. “Not really. I was testing on this little bastard when he ate the sample of canvas so now I’m monitoring him.” The rodent twitched its nose as it was placed in its small cage with its food, water and bedding. “What do you need?”

“I was told you wanted to talk to me before I went to see Rhiannon.”

“Oh yea. You don’t need to worry about that. I asked Martha to do it last night.”

“I didn’t know she had access to retcon.”

“I had enough in the SUV. Her team got them home safe and sound. I know drugging family is… Difficult.”

“Thank you.” Ianto relaxed, knowing that the responsibility had been taken from him. 

“Yea well… Thought you had enough on your mind.” He pretended to be uninterested, watching the rat wash down the chunk of canvass and paint.

There was an extended silence, the room feeling colder than it had before. “What did it eat again?”

“Canvas. And acrylic paint technically. Part of one of Mels vent paintings.”

“Should I ask why?”

He considered whether to say anything or not. “She’s reached a point that her vent art takes on telepathic properties. They project what she’s trying to get rid of. So far it looks like it loses its power when it’s cut into pieces and I can’t see any change to the materials themselves, but I just want to be sure.”

“Oh, right. Should I get her to talk to you about it?”

“Not yet. Just keep her busy for a bit until I work out what even needs saying.”

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

“Got her looking for tartan paint?”

“You joke but we have a can of programmable paint.”

“No taking the piss, that’s my job.”

“I’m not. It was found in nineteen forty five in the garden shed of an agents new house.”

He looked up from the rats cage.

“It was sitting next to the left handed screwdrivers and copper magnets.” Ianto smirked. 

He got only an unamused eye roll on return, but he could hear Gwen chuckling from her chair. 

Martha was still a little nervous when the meeting was called, even if everyone else was acting like the day before had never happened. 

“So,” She began, “what should I tell my boss about what happened yesterday?”

Owen shrugged. “Osiris pushed his luck too far and got shot for it. Not much more to tell them is there?”

“Just about all the casualties.” Martha glanced over at Melody who had sunk into her chair a little. “They were all justified, but I just don’t know how to explain them.” 

Tosh looked around. “If noone else has an idea then I might.”

“Go ahead.”

“Osiris could very easily have been in all of their heads. When he was fatally wounded the connection caused telepathic feedback that left all of his followers injured.”

“I can work with that. I’m wondering if it would be worth asking to get your help in giving all of them amnesia pills.”

“Would that be possible?” Jack asked, looking to Ianto.

Ianto nodded. “We have enough.”

“If they’re all going to be sent to prison anyway then why? It’s not like anything they say will be believed, will it?” Gwen asked, smelling a rat. 

Martha could sense how Gwen was feeling. “It’s a safety measure. I don’t want someone lending a sympathetic ear and ending up allowing them all to go free.”

“I hate to be that person,” Melody said softly, “but have you forgotten that I can hear what you’re all thinking, especially when you’re hiding the truth?”

She tried not to let her guilt show, her skirting around the truth was well intentioned but that didn’t change what it was. “Melody, we’re trying to protect you. If my bosses were to find out the level your abilities have grown too they wouldn’t hesitate to demand access to you. They wouldn’t trust Torchwood to keep you safe. They’d want to replicate whatever lets you grow beyond human limitations.”

“I know… And I know how much I hurt those guards. I know just how much because I could hear them screaming in my head the whole way home. You don’t have to try and keep it secret, at least not here. I appreciate you going out of your way to try and protect me, but please be honest about what’s going on.”

Martha sighed. “If you’re sure. I want to retcon them because all they’ll talk about since they woke up is the silver eyed girl in their minds. I’m hoping that it’ll reverse the mental damage.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry for interrupting.” 

“No, this is probably better anyway. We should all be on the same page for this to work.”

“The last thing any of us need is to be caught in a lie.” Gwen offered.

“Exactly. I think Tosh’s idea would work best as it explains why none of you were affected. Whatever happened in there destroyed the surveillance footage so that isn’t going to be an issue. I’ll get my report written up and you can all look over it.”

Owen pulled Melody aside before she tried disappearing down to the archives again. “I wanted to talk to you about your vent paintings.” 

“Oh? Is there something wrong?”

“Not wrong exactly. Do you know you’ve been leaving telepathic residue all over them?”

“Uhhh… I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“It’s like the message the fishers left but a lot more violent . It just means you’ll have to wrap up and burn any that you make, ok?”

“Oh, um, ok. I can do that.”

“I’ll send you my report on it. Are you ok? The kind of thing you were projecting was…”

She shrugged. “I think I’m fine. As long as it’s out of my head I can deal with it… I’m just ready to put this whole Osiris ordeal behind me.”

“I’m with you on that one. Just, if there’s anything you’re not coping with come and talk to me, yea?”

“I will. Thanks.”


End file.
